Sokka's place
by medusalan
Summary: So just what is the use of the non- bender in the Gaang? A Sokka-centric story, from the Gaang's POV. Some violence.


Author's note: Just a bit of Sokka appreciation. I own nothing except my sanity- and even that's arguable. If I have anyone too far OOC, my apologies in advance.

To their shame, they'd all done it. In a war where the elements around them played such an integral part, sometimes the Gaang forgot- just what was the use of a non- bender?

Somehow, at one time or another, Katara, Toph, and even Aang had looked at Sokka with a feeling of superiority. Why bother having him along? All he did, it seemed, was complain about the lack of meat and tease them, all whilst being totally at the mercy of the elements.

Just when it got to the point of no return, however, he'd do something that reminded the doubter that he was an integral part of the Gaang. Toph remembered quickly the next time they had to fly somewhere, and Sokka was the one to hold on to her in a place where she truly was helpless- something Katara, Aang, and later Zuko never seemed to notice. He was the comforter, and they needed that in the Gaang.

Katara remembered one afternoon when the food bags were low and she was squabbling over the map with Aang.

" I swear, we're right here!"

"But Katara, that's a lake!"

Without a word, Sokka emerged from the dense woods around them, carrying some kind of squirrel in one hand and a smaller bag of some type of fruit for Aang. He laid the squirrel next to the fire and walked behind Katara.

" We have dinner…" A pause, whilst he flipped the map to its opposing side.

" And we're right here."

With a smile, he walked away again to wash up after his hunting. Katara looked after him, feeling guilty that she'd forgotten. Her brother was the hunter and the pathfinder, and the Gaang needed that.

Aang remembered when he lost control of a bend, and his sky sled ended up in more than one piece. Whilst he looked at the remains, near tears, Katara and Toph screamed at him for being stupid, for almost killing them and himself. Sokka, however, crouched down and put a comforting hand on the young Avatar's shoulder. He looked behind him to the two irate females.

" Girls, quit it. He knows, he's upset, and you yelling isn't helping. Just go away for a bit, please?"

Amazingly, both Toph and Katara did as requested. Sokka turned back to the boy beside him.

"Let's have a look at this sled, shall we?"

As Sokka helped him fix the sky sled, Aang realised that the water tribesman was both the emotional buffer and unifying force of the group – and the Gaang definitely needed that.

After that, none of them questioned Sokka's place again. Non bender he might be, but the Southern tribesman continuously proved his worth- when the Gaang trained, Sokka's tactics and stealth often meant that unless the others joined forces to hunt him down, they would find themselves caught or defeated without seeing their attacker until it was too late. In battle, Sokka made the plans that allowed the Gaang to find the unfindable, defeat the undefeatable, and escape with their lives when they had to. He could spy anywhere on anyone, and bring back the essential information they needed to fulfil their tasks.

His inventions amazed, and his skills with the black sword and the boomerang, a whispered conversation between the three had discovered, had saved each of their lives four or five times apiece- that they knew of. Far from being the outcast of the group, or the weak link, Sokka was the conductor of the little band, and they couldn't function without him.

So it was with anxious hearts and fear in their eyes that they flew back in the daylight to the desert campsite they had abandoned the night before- had abandoned Sokka in the night before. The shifting sands underfoot had meant that Sokka spotted the approaching fire army fighters first- by which time they were practically upon them. He looked at the near-blind earth bender struggling with the sand, and the water bender so far from her element, and screamed at Aang to get them out of there, disappearing like a ninja before any argument could be made. They had fled while Sokka bought them the time to do so, for by then they had no choice. But Toph was terrified, flying with no one to hold her. Katara desperately tried to memorise where they were going, scared that she might not be able to find her way back to her brother. Aang looked grim, and knew that if they didn't get Sokka back, the remains of the Gaang would split up and go their separate ways, regardless of what they still had to achieve.

Left on his own to battle, Sokka employed every resource he could. He stayed invisible, using the shadows of night as a defence against the fire benders. One by one, he picked them off from the darkness, destroying them silently. By the time the soldiers realised it was too dangerous to do anything except stand in the open together, there were but three left from a force of twelve.

Knowing the now he would have to leave his ally, the shadows, Sokka ran towards the three men, black sword unsheathed and boomerang already in the air. His boomerang took one man down, and his sword swept past the guard of another. Sokka and the final soldier faced off- the soldier's eyes were wide and frightened, but he was no coward. As Sokka engaged, he quietly let the boomerang fly- and as the black space sword proved near impossible to parry, it returned to hit the soldier in the back. Eyes widened even further than before, and the soldier's last words were,

"That's not fair."

Sokka shook his head as the man fell, and retrieved his boomerang, carefully wiping it clean.

"Of course not. If I fought fair," Sokka whispered, " then I'd be dead- and worse, my friends might be, too."

The corpse didn't appreciate Sokka's response. Suddenly the adrenaline that had carried the warrior through the battle left him, and a thousand small wounds that he had not noticed in the heat of the fight made themselves known. Demanding rest, Sokka's body collapsed, and his eyes closed.

The Gaang returned to find twelve red bodies scattered around the camp- and right in the middle, one in blue. Katara screamed, but calmed instantly when the blue figure startled awake. The young tribesman's breath was knocked out of him by the abrupt crash tackle of three bodies at once.

"Don't you ever leave us, Sokka. Don't you dare!" Katara sobbed into his neck, speaking for them all. Sokka smiled tiredly, and held his Gaang to him.

"Never fear," he promised, "I won't."


End file.
